It is that time of year again and the call went out for all hands to help to launch the boats on Lough Beltra. The Glenisland Co-op now have 10 boats , so it takes a bit of effort to get them all in the water ahead of the opening day on 20th March. TheContinueContinue reading “Beltra boat launch”
Category Archives: Fishing in Ireland
fr. Ronan
Despite the ecclesiastical name I don’t know of any particular connections with the church for this fly. It is a dabbler style pattern for use when fishing for sea trout and salmon but I can see no reason why it would not work for brownies too, especially around the time of the mayfly hatch. ItContinueContinue reading “fr. Ronan”
Who remembers the Bodie Special?
Not many is the answer! Who or what is a Bodie Special? Sounds like it could be a Glasgow cocktail based on fortified wine, but no, this is a trout fly with a small but ardent following in Scotland. Here is how it is dressed and, as always, I have a small variation to theContinueContinue reading “Who remembers the Bodie Special?”
A typical spring day on the river
16th of March. A Monday, blessed with an overcast sky and light winds from the North East. By 11.30am I have cleared the desk and can hit the river for a few hours. A west wind would be better but beggars can’t be choosers at this time of the year so any day that isContinueContinue reading “A typical spring day on the river”
Old flies
I found this guy nestling in the corner of one of my fly boxes today. It has lived there for a couple of seasons now after catching a few grilse and receiving some significant battle scars. It’s hard to see from the photo but the rib is very loose. I don’t mind the roughened upContinueContinue reading “Old flies”
The Red Invicta
I was tying some lough flies yesterday evening and made up a few Red Invicta Bumbles. This fly is a hybrid of other patterns but the end result is a nice approximation of a hatching red midge. Fished on the top or middle dropper positions of a cast it can pull trout like magic onContinueContinue reading “The Red Invicta”
Killdevil Spider (great name for a fly)
What a name! ‘The Killdevil Spider’. It’s like something out of a 1950’s ‘B’movie. In practice it is a confusing little pattern which some anglers swear by and other rate as highly as Jeremy Clarkson’s diplomacy skills. Personally I think this is one which is misunderstood (the fly, not Clarkson) and you should make aContinueContinue reading “Killdevil Spider (great name for a fly)”
First casts
The morning drifted past today with no chance of sneaking off to the river, but after lunch I grabbed the chance to fish for an hour on the River Robe. The weather was horribly bright but the river was running at a good level and colour after recent showers. It was after 3pm before IContinueContinue reading “First casts”
The Snowdrop
It is freezing outside this morning, a heavy frost overnight has given way to a bright cold morning here in Castlebar. Car windscreens are being scraped and morning travel news is full of warning to take care on slippery roads. A trip to the river is in my plans for today but I am inContinueContinue reading “The Snowdrop”
What to use in March?
Early season mean low water temperatures and not much surface activity so my normal approach to trouting on rivers at this time of year is either upstream nymphing or wet fly fished up/down/across/anyway I can get it in the water. Let’s start with the nymph. I fish almost exclusively with bead-headed nymphs these days. ThereContinueContinue reading “What to use in March?”
Claretbumbler 